「 ✦ Rimuru Tempest ✦ 」
I've been sitting here all night. The blizzard that lasted three days finally stopped an hour ago.
The clouds above me started to break apart, letting sunlight pour down onto the snowy mountain peaks. The light hit Daisy's ice sculpture and made it sparkle like diamonds. Even through all this grief, I had to admit it looked beautiful. Shizu's mask lay beside me on the stone. Snow had piled up on its cracked surface, making it look old and forgotten.
"It's about time I get moving," I said out loud. My voice sounded rough from not talking for so long.
I knew I couldn't sit here forever. That would be an insult to Daisy's memory. I'd promised her vengeance, so I had to deliver it. But the truth was, I wanted to spend more time with her. Even if she was dead. Even if this was just a block of ice now.
For all I knew, this could be the last time I'd ever be near her. The path I was about to walk might not have a way back. I stood up slowly. Snow fell off my head and shoulders, adding to the piles already on the ground. My legs felt stiff from sitting so long.
<
On Time? The name made sense in a twisted way, but I still wanted to know what it did.
"Yes."
< [Godstep] – Teleports the user to any location within sight range instantly. No delay. No transition. The movement erases itself from reality. Tracking fails automatically.
[Godspeed] – Speeds up all action—from thoughts to movements to reflexes—through hyper time-compression.>>
I blinked. "Seriously? Now?"
No answer. Not that I expected one.
I looked down at my hands. They looked the same as always. Just me, standing in the snow, apparently with a new power I didn't ask for. It wasn't hard to figure out why I got it.
"Let me guess, Sage. This happened because of emotions?"
< I let out a long breath. It turned into a white cloud in the cold air.
"Of course it did. I'm always late when it matters. So now I get a skill that makes sure I'm never late again."
It wasn't funny, but I laughed anyway. A tired, empty sound.
I stayed there for a while longer. Not thinking about anything specific. Just watching the wind push snow around the edges of Daisy's grave. The snow kept piling up on Shizu's mask like it was trying to bury it completely.
After some time, I felt someone coming. The presence wasn't trying to hide. It wasn't hostile either.
I didn't turn around.
"Took you long enough," I said.
A pause. Then a familiar voice answered.
"You weren't exactly easy to find."
I glanced back slightly. Tio stood a few feet away, her dark cloak covered in snow. She didn't have her usual dramatic expression. She just looked calm. Serious.
"You're not the first person to tell me that," I said.
"I can tell."
I turned back to look at Daisy's grave. "That girl Iu. She always knew where to find me. Always. Didn't matter how far I went or where I hid."
Tio walked closer and stood beside me. Not too close, but close enough that I could feel her presence. It was comforting, in a way.
"I heard about what happened," she said quietly.
"Gee. Which part?"
"All of it."
"I see."
She didn't say anything else right away. No "I'm sorry for your loss." No "everything will be okay." She just stood there with me. And honestly, that helped more than any words could have.
"Can you believe it?" I asked after a minute. "She wasn't even real. But she felt so real. The way she talked, the way she went on her everyday life. Even the way she smiled."
"That doesn't make what you felt any less real," Tio said.
"But it doesn't change the fact that she's gone."
Tio nodded slowly. "You're not the only one who's lost someone important."
I looked at her, then back at the snow. "How will you know if anything is real anymore?"
She gave me a small smile. "I'd like to think I'm real. But I guess that's not really the point, is it?"
"No," I said. "It's not."
I was quiet for a moment, then asked the question that had been eating at me.
"Tio. Are you real?"
She looked at me, then shrugged. "Probably. I hurt when I get injured. I think my own thoughts. I get hungry and have to eat. Seems real enough to me."
"Could be bullshit."
"Sure," she said. "But I'm still here right now. That has to count for something, doesn't it?"
I thought about that. She was right, in a way. Even if everything was fake, even if nothing could be trusted, she was still here. Still standing in the snow with me when she could have been anywhere else.
"You planning to stay here forever?" Tio asked.
"Should I?" I teased.
"No," she said firmly. "I don't think she'd want that."
I didn't answer. Part of me knew she was right, and frankly, I was just kidding. But another part of me didn't want to leave. Leaving felt like abandoning Daisy all over again.
Tio turned to look at me. Her expression wasn't pity, but it was close. "The world's still turning, young master. Even if it doesn't feel like it."
"I'm not in a rush."
"I know," she said softly.
We stood there in silence for a few more minutes. The wind had died down completely now. Everything was still and quiet. Finally, I walked over to Shizu's mask and picked it up. I brushed the snow off its surface and looked at the cracks that had formed across it.
"I'll be back," I whispered to the ice sculpture. "After I finish everything."
I turned away from the grave and started walking down the mountain path. I didn't look back. If I looked back, I might not be able to leave at all. Tio fell into step beside me, not saying anything.
The sun climbed higher in the sky as we made our way down the mountain. Behind us, Daisy's grave sparkled in the light, beautiful and eternal. I'd keep my promise to her. No matter what it cost me.
···—–—⚜—–—···
「 ✦ Hajime Nagumo ✦ 」
Rimuru Tempest was a walking contradiction.
The first time I saw him, my instincts screamed danger. Not the kind you get from a beast or even a demon lord. Something deeper. Like staring into an abyss that might decide to stare back.
But then nothing happened anymore.
All of a sudden, we didn't fight. Didn't even really talk. Didn't care. From enemies to strangers to reluctant cohabitants of the same broken world. That's how it went. No big turning point.
I wouldn't call us friends. Hell, I wouldn't call us allies. But I knew him. If not through conversation and personal interactions, then through observation. And after what happened in that coliseum, I'd pieced together enough to understand the guy was carrying more weight than he let on.
The grief. The anger. The betrayal. The sheer absurdity of someone who looked that unbothered on the surface but kept bleeding behind the smile.
Then again, wasn't that all of us?
"He's not like us," Shizuku had said after everything went to hell. "He doesn't bend. He doesn't break. He just takes it. And every time something happens, a little more of him goes away."
I didn't say anything back then. Because I got it.
You don't have to see someone cry to know they're hurting.
Maybe I had it wrong about him all along...
A sharp slam snapped me back to reality.
The heavy oak table shook. Silverware jumped. A few water glasses nearly tipped over.
I looked up slowly.
Kouki Amanogawa stood up from his seat, hand still pressed against the wood, face red with frustration.
"Are you even listening, Nagumo?!"
The room went dead quiet.
We were sitting in what used to be a fancy dining hall in the palace. Now it served a makeshift war room. The surviving officers, Prince Lundel, Princess Liliana, and what was left of the hero paty sat around in a loose circle.
Aiko-sensei looked tired. Yaegashi kept her arms crossed, jaw tight. Even Kaori was there, still pale from whatever the hell had happened to her during Nakamura's little show.
And now Amanogawa was pointing at me like I was personally responsible for every problem in the kingdom.
I leaned back in my chair.
What the hell am I even doing here? I thought to myself begrudgingly.
I'd held off the second demon wave after Rimuru vanished. Drove back Freid Bagwa. Protected a capital that was already falling apart from the inside. None of that had been my job.
So why was I sitting in a cold room listening to this self-righteous idiot try to guilt-trip me?
I didn't answer right away. Let the silence stretch until it got uncomfortable.
Yue, sitting next to me, stared at Amanogawa with the kind of boredom that usually meant someone was about to get vaporized.
Finally, I sighed.
"Watch your tone," I said, keeping my voice level. "I'm not entitled to your bullshit."
Amanogawa's confidence wavered. "I—You weren't paying attention! How are we supposed to make plans when you—"
"I already did what none of you could," I cut him off. "I held the line while you were busy moping and swallowing dirt on the ground. That earns me the right to zone out for thirty seconds, no?"
Amanogawa sat down hard, jaw clenched like a scolded dog.
Aiko cleared her throat. "Let's... try to stay focused, please."
Nobody said anything for a moment.
She continued, softer now. "We need to face the truth about this world. The gods we thought were protecting us—the ones the Holy Church worships—they're not protectors. They treat this entire realm like some kind of game."
"That's blasphemy," one of the older knights muttered.
Aiko pressed on. "We've seen too much to ignore it anymore. The summoning, the worldwide manipulation... even the wars. None of it had ever been about justice. It's just... cruelty for entertainment."
"Enough, Sensei," Amanogawa said, voice strained. "We were brought here to save people. Not to question the gods."
Yue's smile turned sharp.
With a flick of her fingers, Amanogawa shot up from his chair and slammed against the far wall. His arms and legs froze mid-struggle, pinned by invisible force.
The entire room tensed.
Prince Lundel half-stood in alarm. Princess Liliana gasped. A few soldiers reached for their weapons—then froze when they caught my glare.
"Don't even try," I said quietly.
Yue didn't even look at Amanogawa. "I thought someone should quiet the noisy one. Since no one else was doing it."
Amanogawa struggled against the gravity magic holding him in place. Couldn't move an inch.
Aiko looked worried. I didn't care. The room needed a reality check.
"I'm not here to play hero," I said, looking around the table. "Never was. I'm going to clear every labyrinth in this world and find a way home. That's it. I don't give a damn about saving kingdoms or fighting gods or whatever redemption story you think this is."
The silence was ice-cold.
"You're just going to abandon us?" one of the knights asked. "Leave this world to burn?"
"This world doesn't owe me anything. And I don't owe it anything either."
Shizuku shifted in her seat. Eventually, someone brought up Rimuru. People exchanged glances. Some uncomfortable, some worried.
"He's... grieving," Yuka Sonobe said carefully.
"He's dangerous," a knight officer added quickly. "We can't just ignore that."
"He saved this city," Kaori whispered. "He saved me."
"He's too powerful to ignore," one of the princess's advisors said. "If he'll fight with us, we should ask for his help."
"And if he says no?" a captain asked. "Or worse, what if he turns on us?"
"He saved the capital."
"He also left it."
"There's no telling what he'll do."
More voices. More arguing.
"He's also completely unpredictable," Prince Lundel spoke this time. "Do we even know what he wants now?"
I looked around the table, then shook my head.
"You're not going to predict Rimuru, because you can't," I said. "He's not like anyone."
A pause.
"So what are you saying?" Princess Liliana asked. "That we just leave him alone?"
"I'm saying," I said slowly, "don't try to use him. Not unless you want to find out what happens when something that strong stops caring about consequences."
Some people nodded. Others stayed quiet. A few looked skeptical.
But nobody argued.
The meeting dragged on for another hour. More plans. More proposals. More contingencies for situations they probably couldn't handle anyway.
By the time it ended, Yue finally released Amanogawa from her spell. He stumbled back to his chair without looking at anyone. I didn't spare him a glance. As we headed for the door, Yaegashi fell into step beside me.
"Thanks," she said quietly.
I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"For being the only person in that room who doesn't pretend everything's fine."
I didn't respond. Just kept walking toward the hallway, Yue and Shea following me.